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Arizona-UCLA blog: Bruins Wear out the Cats

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Josiah Turner

Josiah Turner goes up for a dunk in the first half. Photo by Kelvin Kuo-US PRESSWIRE

That’s it. A bad game for the Cats and a bad loss to a shorthanded UCLA team. The Bruins win 65-58, getting a combined 34 points from 6-10 forwards Travis and David Wear. They made 13 of 16 field goal attempts.

Arizona falls to 10-5 overall and 1-1 in the league.

The only undefeated team in the Pac-12 is Colorado at 2-0.

Weird night: The only road team to win in six games was Arizona State, which beat USC with only six scholarship players.

Arizona, which has lost 11 of 13 games at UCLA and USC, will try to take out the Trojans on Sunday.

* * *

Speaking of a tough night for Nick Johnson, his behind the back pass as he drives the lane, is stolen in the final minute. The Cats’ backcourt has had a miserable night offensively and their frontcourt couldn’t stop anybody.

* * *

Never mind about who is going to hit a big shot for Arizona. The Cats turn the ball over.

* * *

Running out of time. Arizona trails 59-54 with 1:21 to go. Who’s going to hit a 3?

* * *

Tough, tough night for Nick Johnson. Only two points and his 3-point attempt with less than three minutes left hit nothing but the backboard.

* * *

Arizona hung around long enough and is finally hitting the accelerator. A 7-0 run — with Solomon Hill shooting one free throw after a timeout with 3:28 left — brings the Cats within 57-54.

* * *

And now David Wear fouls out with 5:05 to play. He had 14 points and five rebounds, making 6 of 7 shots.

* * *

The Wear twins each have four fouls with 5:56 to go.

* * *

UCLA has been in control most of the way, and it doesn’t feel like Arizona is really in this game — but it is, trailing only 51-46 with 7:34 to go. Perhaps my pessimism comes from the Wildcats’ horrible interior defense.

* * *

UCLA trainers working on UCLA guard Tyler Lamb’s lower left leg after he came down awkwardly while going for a rebound. Angelo Chol picked up his fourth foul on the play with 9:44 to go. UCLA leads 47-42.

* * *

Give credit to Arizona State, which had only six scholarship players tonight after three were suspended … and the Devils still beat USC 62-53. Pressure is really on for the Cats to not lose to the Trojans on Sunday.

* * *

Arizona’s offense continues to be painful to watch, as the Cats fall behind 45-35. But the Wear twins have foul trouble for UCLA … and UA’s shots have to fall sometime, right?

David Wear has four fouls with 13:20 to go.

* * *

The Wildcats’ lack of a defensive stopper in the middle — a problem in each of the team’s four losses — was making life difficult against UCLA. The Bruins scored 30 of their first 41 points in the paint en route to a nine-point lead early in the second half.

* * *

Not enough defense for the Wildcats in the first half, as they trail UCLA 37-30. The Wear twins have led the way for the Bruins, who made 16 of 27 shots (59.3 percent), doing too much damage from 12 feet and in.

* * *

Looking for good news? David and Travis Wear each picked up two fouls in the first half.

* * *

The Wildcats are having trouble defending the paint, even with UCLA big man Joshua Smith on the bench because of a concussion.

David Wear and Travis Wear, versatile and nimble 6-10 players, have been getting free inside all too often, combining for 18 points on 8 of 10 shooting with 3:39 left in the first half.

UCLA leads 31-29, although it would be worse if Arizona’s Brendon Lavender hadn’t hit two 3-pointers.

* * *

I’m just watching on TV, but this game has the start time and the atmosphere of a mid-level WAC game.

* * *

UCLA’s points are coming easier than Arizona’s — Bruins post Travis Wear has 10 points after starting for injured Joshua Smith — but the Wildcats have fought back to get within 25-21 with 7:52 to go in the half.

* * *

UCLA put together a 10-0 run, ended by Angelo Chol’s drive to the basket for two. That made it 21-14 for the Bruins.

* * *

Arizona can’t much argue about the pace of the game; the problem is that the absence of UCLA center Joshua Smith is working to the Bruins’ advantage as they are more athletic on the court.

Arizona’s outside shots aren’t falling … and, really, that is about the extent of the Cats’ offense this season. UA is 4 of 14 from the field, including 0 of 3 from 3-point range, as it trails 19-12 with 10:51 to play.

* * *

Another shocking Pac-12 result: Utah beat Washington State 62-60 in overtime. I thought the Utes would win one conference game at most. This could be it.

* * *

Busy start for Josiah Turner — good and bad. He commits two turnovers on bad passes (trying to do too much), but he has a steal, drew a charge and scored four points as UCLA led 11-10 with 14:36 to go in the first half.

* * *

Can anyone figure out the Pac-12? Washington just lost at Colorado, 87-69. Is winning on the road that tough?

* * *

One change in the starting lineup for Arizona: Freshman point guard Josiah Turner, who has played increasingly better since his early-season struggles, replaced Jordin Mayes.

It was Turner’s first start since the season-opener.

Coach Sean Miller has praised Turner for his better work ethic and attitude since being suspended for the Dec. 7 game at Florida. Turner had five steals in last weekend’s game at Arizona State, and he had five assists vs. Bryant in the game before that.

For the Cats to be at their peak in March, Turner needs to continue his improvement trend. He has a better chance than Mayes of being a play-fast, pass-first point guard.

* * *

No Joshua Smith tonight for the Bruins. He’s out because of a concussion.

That’s a relief for Arizona, which still has to deal with the 6-10 Wear twins — both of whom will be in the starting lineup — but life will be easier for the Cats without the 305-pound Smith in the middle.

* * *

Arizona takes on UCLA tonight from the Honda Center in Anaheim, where many of this year’s Wildcats have good memories from their rout of Duke in last season’s Sweet 16.

That was followed by the near-miss against UConn in the regional final.

Overall, the Honda Center is a happier place for Arizona to be than Pauley Pavilion, which is undergoing renovation, which means the Bruins have to play the bulk of their home games in the dreary Los Angeles Sports Arena.

No matter where this game is played, it mostly comes down to a matter of big vs. small, grinders vs. runners. We assume you know which team is which.

The Cats will be trying to dig UCLA’s hole a little deeper after the Bruins lost a pair in the Bay Area in the opening weekend of Pac-12 play. That road trip will be the toughest in the conference this season; Arizona will find out soon enough.

Normally, a loss at UCLA wouldn’t be that big of a deal — would probably be expected. But this isn’t most years.

The Cats — who are 0-4 against teams in this week’s AP Top 25 — can’t afford a misstep against a UCLA team that ranks 111th nationally in Jeff Sagarin’s ratings on USA Today. That’s three spots below Texas-Arlington.

Considering that Arizona is not in the latest NCAA Tournament projections from ESPN’s Joe Lunardi, the Cats need all the wins they can get.

We’ll be monitoring the game and updating this post with notes and commentary, etc … have you say in the comments section.

No matter what happens for Arizona tonight, at least the news will be better than it was out of Arizona State, which suspended three players for the trip to Los Angeles.

Related on TucsonCitizen.com:
Arizona-UCLA: Three keys for the Cats

Scott Terrell: This week in the Pac-12: Arizona looks for rare wins in Los Angeles

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